The Easy Way to Caulk a Shower

09/1/2016

During shopping for a new home, we walked into our foreclosure and were surprised that it was in such good shape. There were only two smallish holes in a wall in the entire house, a couple of piece of trim that need to be nailed back down, could use a coat of paint, and had lots of little things like the shower door frame not attached completely to the surround. While my parents visited, they helped us tackle lots of little projects that add up to feeling like a big project! One of the things Dad fixed was the shower frame during their visit.

So now it was time to clean it up. The caulk was either coming off, had lots of mold under it, or was just completely missing. Plus, the shower was dirty – on the scummy scale even.

The first thing I did was gather up cleaning supplies like a toothbrush, Soft Scrub, and Windex and also caulking supplies(see picture below) which I forgot to take a picture of until after I was done with the project! The most important thing for this project was the yellow scraper thingy in the picture below. It has a razor blade but is so much easier to use than other razor blade thingies.

First, I cleaned up the shower with Soft Scrub and my throw away toothbrush. Then I got my razor blade tool and started scraping off the old caulk. My *TIPS* for removing caulk is to remember: 1. it’s going to take time 2. try to start at one end and keep scraping it off in one strip 3. Cut the caulk where it is attached to the shower frame.

After removing all the caulk, it was time to clean again including the glass door this time. The shower was cleaned from top to bottom and looked so much better already!

Now, it was time to caulk!

I chose (with help from my Dad – thanks!) silicone mold-free clear caulk for this project. Since we just moved in recently, my garage still looks like an episode from Hoarders so I can’t find tools easily. Therefore, I had to buy another caulk gun.

You’ll need a couple things on hand: caulk tube, caulk gun, scissors, long nail or other object to punture seal, papetowels, and a disposable cup of water.

Steps to caulking:

Pull the bar all the way out by pushing on the lever and pulling on the bent end of the bar.

Now put the canister of caulk in the gun but don’t pull the trigger just yet.

Snip the end of the caulk and then take a long nail or something similar, I used a long allen wrench, to puncture the seal.

Started at the top of the shower frame and put the tip of the caulk tube where a seal is needed. At the same time pull the trigger and move the tip of the caulk tube down the corner of the shower frame.

After reaching the bottom, dip your finger in water and drag it down the seam of caulk to remove excess and also force more caulk into any empty spaces. Occasionally, wipe the excess caulk off your finger using papertowels and re-wet your finger to continue.

I put caulk around the inside and outside of the shower frame. This entire project took about 2.5 hours mainly because of how dirty the shower was. The packaging on the caulk tube suggested not using the shower for at the very least 30 minutes afterwards but no one was needing to use it until the next day.

I’m happy with how it turned out and am not creeped out by grimy stuff showering with me now. LOL!

Cindy, I am a terrible caulker! But your tips will definitely be helpful. OR maybe YOU could just come to my house and DO all my caulking! Oh and bring your dad with you. We could keep him busy for a good week!Jean | DelightfulRepast.com recently posted…Roast Beef – How to Cook a Small Roast

It definitely is a big pain! I still need to remove old caulk around the separate tub and all the windows need caulk in this house. That scraper tool thing really helps! Good luck!!! 🙂Cindy Magee recently posted…Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop #191

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